The war between conservatives and the Republican Establishment — and make no mistake, this is a war — is on once more.

The people who brought the GOP losing candidates from Dewey to Dole are at it again.

Last week’s assault on Newt Gingrich — with various Romney supporters seriously and deceptively trying to tell unwitting voters that Gingrich was never really a real Reagan ally– in reality has nothing to do with Newt Gingrich at all.

The attack on Gingrich’s Reagan credentials, by the way, which I discussed here, backfired badly on the Romney forces. They were quickly dropped ….

If Newt Gingrich disappeared from the planet today and in his place stood only Rick Santorum — or Sarah Palin herself or some other conservative — you can be certain the Establishment GOP would have their sights trained on that conservative, running some version of precisely the same multi-gazillion dollar campaign they are running against Newt Gingrich right now. As a matter of fact, they did exactly this to Governor Palin from the very moment she stepped on the national stage in 2008. If by chance Rick Santorum emerges as the sole conservative left in this race — look out Rick….

The attacks on Newt Gingrich by the Establishment Romneyites are not about Newt Gingrich at all. They are attacks on conservatives. By the Republican Party Establishment.

Exactly. When it looked like Santorum might rise, Romney unloaded on Santorum briefly until it was clear Santorum no longer was rising.

Newt did things that WE, the people, think are fine – the very things we want, like a balanced budget. And that gave the Establishment a reason to resent Newt.

Which means they don’t want a balanced budget, which we DO want.

So they’re trying to destroy a candidate because he did what the people want.

That is exactly Lord’s point, isn’t it? It’s not about Newt.

They also did this to Reagan. They would do it to anyone who might be effective in changing their corrupt system of getting rich & powerful at the expense of the American people.

It’s about Newt trying to do what WE THE PEOPLE want that, the Establishment doesn’t want.

Newt is the only candidate who will win the general elections and then know what to do to allow the American people to restore our country to its constitutional principles and return power back home to the local communities, the state and the individual person.

I didn’t know this goes all the way back to Dewey. Thank God for Ronald Reagan or we might not realize that all this sub-standard stuff from the politicians is optional. We CAN have a better public life with better public policies.

You know, it’s easy to see how the Left has destroyed the Democrat Party. It’s starting to be clear that something very similar has been done to the Republican Party, through the phenomenon of the consultants.

The campaign finance laws are also a corrupting influence.

Newt understands this stuff. With Newt’s leadership, we can clean up the corrupt practices and make our country the best place in the world to do business and to live free.

I appreciate the anger over Romney getting a leg up by basically going negative first in Iowa, but how much can you complain now? Newt calls Romney a “liar” every day which to me is about as negative and personal as one can get.

Further, negative ads are nothing new. I’m sure I don’t have to remind you of the election of 1800. Nothing compares to that one. Negative ads are part of the landscape of a political campaign, always has been, always will be.

My last point builds on the second. I have seen you and others claim that the Bain attacks are fair game because Obama will use those same points. Fair enough, but what has Romney said about Newt that will not be said by Obama and the MSM x 10?

I enjoy your work. I come here every day. I like your legal analysis best though you are clearly the best defender Newt has on the web. I don’t really like an of our choices, I will be voting for whoever opposes Obama. Whether it be Newt, Romney or the man in the moon I hope they beat Obama, that’s the real purpose of all this.

You don’t think casting aspersions on Newt’s Conservative creds, laying out an argument that he’s not wrapped too tight psychologically, lying about what he’s said and done are not personal attacks? When a man lies on you and you call him a liar, that is not a personal attack, that is speaking the truth. You’re a Robamneybot who’s using Rush Limbaugh’s rundown of campaign ugliness to bolster your attack on Gingrich in defense of the liar Romney. Nice trick.

This campaign started positive. Romney poisoned it in Iowa just like in 2008. Whether the Bain attacks were fair or not, they came only after a month of Romney, National Review, Coulter, et al. dumping every smear they had on Newt. There’s a reason why both Huckabee and Newt used the same verbiage in describing how Romney campaigns.

No argument that Romney started it. No argument that Newt’s record has been distorted to try and make him out to be less of a Reaganophile than he was in the 80s. It was inevitable though that someone would start running negative ads though. Assuming Romney had stayed positive and lost, Newt would have faced this sort of attack only more intensely when he faced Obama.

I wouldn’t disqualify Romney as a candidate for going negative either. Don’t we want that in the general election? The Obama people have already admitted their plan is going to be to focus on our candidate because they know they can’t run on their record, it’s abysmal. The best way to defeat Obama is to go negative and attack him for not living up to that Hope & Change crap. It can’t be the only approach but it should be a big p-art of the strategy.

For the same reasons I agree with you that voting for Santorum is a wasted vote, I don’t believe nominating Newt gives us the best chance to beat Obama. If Romney is elected and backtracks leaving Obamacare intact there will be plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth in my household.

Romney has been criticized by everyone who has had to run against him in 2008 for lying.

If you do independent research, you find that Romney is lying.

If you do independent research, especially by watching Newt’s speeches, you find that Newt is consistent.

And when Newt changes his mind, it’s coherent. He explains his thinking, why he changed his mind, how he cam to these conclusion. Just as we do in our real lives.

Romney can’t explain his shifts and changes, because Romney is a package of pre-memorized platitudes and blurted-out prevarications. Romney is not really trying to help THE PEOPLE or our country with real solutions.

You can see that, right? He’s like a parrot. An angry parrot (see the video clip).
Romney is thin-skinned and doesn’t like to be challenged. ROMNEY LOSES COMPOSURE WITH AP REPORTER 2008 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8cHiEGLEls

Newt said in an interview recently that it seems that Governor Romney says whatever seems to answer FOR THE MOMENT without regard to whether it’s true or not and without regard for whether people will immediately know that it’s not true.

Isn’t that what just happened with his claim that his investments are in a blind trust? Didn’t someone tweet within minutes that it’s not true? John Kerry, anyone? “Integrity, John, integrity.”

Romney really is an Obama-Lite. Romney is a lot like Obama, and not only because he is really MUCH MORE liberal and pretending to be a moderate, but also in temperament and motivation. Romney is the front man for the money boys, and so is Obama. Even Soros thinks they are alike. Romney has no intention of changing the corrupt practices of the Washington – New York corridor.

So the idea that there is a moral equivalency will not do.

Newt, by contrast, knows what we’re up against and Newt has practical solutions. Newt wants to give the American people a chance to clean up this mess.

Romney is a flip flopper, I don’t like that and it makes me nervous. I wish there were a credible candidate in whom I could trust. But to say Newt has changed his mind in good faith but Romney is just a liar is not clear eyed analysis. Newt has a lot of baggage and his own record with some questionable decisions.

We could make a point by point list of flip flops, lies, etc. That wasn’t why I posted. My point was that negative campaigning is inevitable and if you want to justify going negative on Newt by saying Obama will bring up Bain et al then you have to be prepared for Obama to do what Romney is doing to Newt as well. Does anyone think Obama and his minions won’t lie? We already know that to be patently false.

I agree. I keep thinking about what I would do if I was running and I was being slammed. I would embrace the attacks. If I were Newt. I would openly thank Romney, his superpacs, Santorum, and Paul for their attacks. Because – and I would point this out to the American people, their help in preparing me to what the lib media & the Obama administration will slaughter me with when I’m nominated. I’d also do a “best of Newt attack ads” in a satiric mock of them.

At this point, Newt then can move on to what he does best – speak of conservatism & his solutions to save America.

Newt has been disoriented. He’s getting his legs back under him. Maybe it’s too late. He would expect such treatment from Democrats, not “fellow” Republicans. Many of us are stunned, disbelieving, and angry. Imagine how the target of it feels.

It’s impossible to imagine if you haven’t been through it, how difficult it is to function when people from whom you expect some degree of honor show absolutely none. They keep throwing lies at you, then revile YOU as the liar when you present cold, hard facts to refute them.

Have to agree that it seems like it isn’t really Newt – it’s what he represents – the guys who aren’t there now. I can agree that he’s not a perfect candidate but neither is Mitt. What has driven me more toward him is the absolute disdain the insiders display toward him – it’s the same thing they did to Palin. “how dare someone they deem unworthy, unPresidential think they are entitled to run for office without the approval of the “smart” people?”

You almost would think that the TP effort never happened or that the GOP supposed intelligentsia learned nothing from it. They appear to believe that the TP has become a paper tiger – see Laura Ingraham’s comments. Either the conservatives in the TP have to stick to their positions or accept that they will always be just grunts in the GOP.

Please – you really want to pretend that people like Rove, Will, Krauthammer didn’t do the GOP’s work for them. You know it isn’t playing the victim when you are being bashed – it’s being a realist. And if you think “We the People have the power, and we are the establishment” you are naive.

As a former blogger – I had a golden rule – never to debate a lib because it is a WASTE of time. As a former lib/socialist – you can’t save them nor reason with them. I had to come to terms & escape from lib prison on my own.

It’s hard for me to believe that someone who follows political blogs can’t remember Barbara Bush saying that Sarah Palin should stay in Alaska. That was the dead giveaway of the “bluebloods” position re: Sarah Palin.

You may have noticed that WE THE PEOPLE elect what we think are conservatives and then they raise taxes and pass campaign finance laws that are CLEARLY unconstitutionally taking away our right to POLITICAL SPEECH, and they get subsumed into the MATRIX of the POWER STRUCTURE in the Washington – New York corridor. And we sit in our towns and cities and farms and we rage, rage against the machine. And we feel impotent and helpless. And we just HATE that feeling.

Newt explained what’s going on in one of his speeches from a year or more ago. We must defeat AND REPLACE the Left.

Because conservative win elections, but the Left outnumbers them in our institutions.

The march of the Left through our institutions — judiciary. schools, universities, media, non-profits, unions — continues unabated, no matter that we elected Reagan.

Do you understand that one of the reasons we didn’t end up with Hillarycare is Newt? He’s one of the only ones the Left has not been able to Turn.

If you are a troll, you may know these things already. If you are sincere, you clearly do not know these things, or you would not say things like WE THE PEOPLE have the power.

I mean, in a way, you are right, of course: Ultimately, WE THE PEOPLE have the power, and in the United States, are MEANT to have the power.

But, my dear MerryCarol, this is under subversive assault. And that is the whole point of why we are teaming up to elect Newt. Because this has to be stopped. By someone who understands. And Newt understands. And if you do your research, you will understand, too.

If you really want to know, it is up to you to do the research. The most powerful search capabilities in the history of our time on earth is at your fingertips. Use it.

It is ridiculous to come here and demand that the Professor or anyone else do your work for you.

And if you don’t know it, that is a technique used by trolls to try to get people with whom they do not agree to spend a lot of time and energy doing some else’s work — essentially, wasting their time and chasing their tail, because the troll never can be persuaded, because the troll is on the other side. Hence, the term “troll.”

So I hope this sets you on your path to discovery of what we’re up against.

More shilling for Romney by Drudge. His lead story is an NBC hit piece that quotes an “unnamed” source that says the “pass the torch” comment of Nancy Reagan was taken out of contents. The article doesn’t quote Nancy Reagan more fully, trying to demonstrate the contents. That’s what a responsible journalist does.

It also quotes someone who makes the ridiculous claim that “not even sure Reagan knew who Gingrich was.” Do these people have brains?

The “not even sure Reagan knew who Gingrich was” claim is not merely a put-down of Newt but a slam on Reagan. The Left loves to discount Reagan by alluding to his battle with Alzheimer’s. A veritible two-fer.
The true Reagan people remember Newt quite fondly. The phony ones seem to see Reagan in Romney.

Maybe someone could ask Drudge to clarify precisely what ‘Reagan sources’ are? Because it does not appear to be an actual Reagan.

He’s not doing himself any favors playing that game.

If he thinks he can position himself as an MSM variant – playing their same games of unnamed sources and innuendo, just for the RINO establishment instead of the left – he’s going to be sorely disappointed. Drudge is internet only and so, once his credibility with the base is shot, can be disintermediated with one click of the mouse.

you probably have more experience in this than I do … how does the far left co-opt the Democrat party (as I see it), but the huge wave that wants less government and lower taxes always gets co-opted by Romney types? I think it just comes down to buying votes with various entitlement promises.

The Tea party (not some evangelical wing of it) should co-opt the Republican party … but it seems to me, the establishment Republicans instead marginalized the Tea party with Pelosi like rhetoric.

For now at least, billionaires want their men in Washington, and get to call the shots, and most of “we the people” are bamboozled. Maybe the Republic not Romney supporters like Palin/Levin/Reagan/West need to organize?

of course I think Ronald Reagan actually did have a little voodoo in his economics … the deficit spending path sustained the “Great Society” thinking. It will take a revolutionary party to change course … or a funding crisis.

“The Tea party (not some evangelical wing of it) should co-opt the Republican party … but it seems to me, the establishment Republicans instead marginalized the Tea party with Pelosi like rhetoric.”

Part of the proof of my point. That was a hammer, but they use much more subtle tools, as well.

This is how power works. Remember your Machiavelli…

We threaten power concentrations, and they will not “go gently into that good night”. Everything we do is swimming against the current of history and the darker aspects of human nature, as did the Founders.

“As a matter of fact, they did exactly this to Governor Palin from the very moment she stepped on the national stage in 2008.”
It was shocking to me to see no one from the Republican party step in and stop the attacks on Gov. Palin. Especially when the left went after her baby. I could not believe McCain did not go after his vice president nominee’s detractors. He let it go on and on.

This opened my eyes to what Republican party really is. If the MSM goes after a Republican, the Republican party steps out of the way and does not defend their people. The tea party people have done more to defend republicans then the party establishment. And the establishment seems to hate the tea party people for that…

They did the same thing to Newt back in the 1990’s and they are going completely off the deep end on Newt now. However, we have the internet and we can see the actions, the game, and what the establishment is doing. I don’t know how this ends, but I am disgusted with Romney and his establishment buddies very vicious and very personal attacks on Newt.

What will happen to vicious Romney when the MSM and the democrats turn their attack machine on him? Will the Republican establishments stand up for him? Or will they stand back and let him go down too? Will Romney bow to the MSM and the democrats and sell us out?

I wanted a fighter to turn this country around. I wanted someone who has a plan of reducing regulations, drilling our own oil, and reworking or get rid of the EPA, Dept. of Ed., etc. Everyone of the fighters is being taken out by the establishment. Newt is the last guy standing. If they are successful in destroying Newt as well, I will not forget when they come crying for my vote.

I am getting more and more of the mindset that a second Obama term might not be completely bad. It would be very damaging, we could suffer long term set backs. But it is apparent to me that our culture, at least nearly a majority, wants to pursue more and more socialist policy. Maybe we should rush off head first at top speed in order to get to the end result failure all that much sooner? People can discern the right answer more easily when the choices a the most distinct. Or, maybe not, we elected Roosevelt 4 times…. Ok, now I am just getting cynical…

We don’t have a problem, the GOPE do. When we pull out and go third party, they’ll be the one stuck as the minority party in perpetuity. It would be neat watching them try to win by dissing their base then.

Look, when you visit someone’s house and they show you that you’re not wanted, you take your leave and either go to your own house or go someplace else where you’re wanted. Well, there’s no oth place that wants Conservatives, so we have to go to our own house. We just have to decide, do we call ourselves the Conservative Party or the Tea Party. I like the second. Let the name be a reminder of our national heritage.

There are a significant number of people in the Republican party establishment that are there simply because they wanted to be in politics and happened to choose team R. They would have no compunction about saddling up with team D in the event a large portion of the base departed. Or ESPECIALLY IF they saw their own personal prospects/perks/prerogatives being substantially diminished.

Also do not overlook the fact that most of those in the neo-con ranks were once leftists, and many ONLY came to be considered conservative in light of their opposition to Stalinist totalitarianism. The end of that empire puts their principles and loyalties back in play.

Many of these people are the same ones repeatedly going to bat for Romney.

And if you think the Democrats wouldn’t take most of them in (slight demotions of course – but nothing too punitive) then you are sorely mistaken. They would see it as an opportunity to cement a governing majority for decades to come.

This is going to require our own long march – one to retake the party and gradually force these people out. It is only if and when that effort proves futile does schism become a viable option (and I don’t think we have reached that juncture yet.) The process we are engaged in is dual in nature – to retake a functional party and save the Republic from creeping statism/progressivism.

I just saw the video of Romney at McDonald’s. As disgusted as I am with his campaign and as much as I love Newt, I am beginning to find Mitt Romney’s awkwardness endearing for whatever reason. Probably too squishy to be president tho.

It boils down to the myth that Romney won’t take on Obama in the general election. Clearly, these campaign tactics used against Santorum and Gingrich have been quite effective, and I think any notion that Romney will sit back in a general election have been put to bed. What we don’t know is if the media will “play along” in the general.

That aside, we now have to ask yourselves if we really want Romney’s policies ?

IMO Mitt will refrain from attacking Obama for fear of being called a racist and having his religion attacked. It’s hard to whine about anti-Mormon insults when the other guy will hit you with the race card.

Romney is liberal, so has to use deceit and destruction against his political enemies to his right. And he now has a money advantage and both conservative and liberal media support.

In the general, he’ll be trying to woo those that still might like Obama enough to vote for him. Attacks against Obama score the most points with conservatives, so I don’t expect Mitt to get any MORE aggressive in the general … maybe less.

One local Democrat blogger in my town was an old friend of Clinton, and was standing next to Obama when he came to town. He said for the first time in 44 years he is taking a break, and not going to be part of a presidential campaign.

There may be a lot of Democrats like that, and Romney or Newt would try to win them over, perhaps by being more friendly than aggressive. But he will be pointed about the destruction Obama has wrought. I don’t know what independents will respond to … but they may need more hand holding than harsh rhetoric.

Whatever works … I think Mitt or Newt could win, so I’d prefer Newt. But would he get enough money?

“I think any notion that Romney will sit back in a general election have been put to bed.”

Not only disagree, but would contend than a fundamental “inverse principle” of modern political Republican decadence will play out here: that is, that Romney will actually over-compensate so as consciously NOT to attack Obama in the way he attacked Gingrich.

The corrupt Republican establishment is in bed with their totalitarian brethren on the other side of the aisle to crush the spirit of freedom and liberty in the citizenry. Anyone with any charisma who rises up will be savagely smeared with the scorched earth politics of personal destruction. Willard-bama has fractured the base beyond repair.
I previously had no dog in this race once Sarah Palin dropped out. However, today in protest I will cast my vote for Newt in Florida. If corrupt Willard-bama should win the Republican nomination I will cast my vote for Obama in November. Why should I vote for Willard-bama when I can have the real thing, Obama.
The Willard-bamabots are just as much obnoxious as Axelrods’s Obamabots were in 2008. They took a page out of the Alyinsky playbook. Sniveling cries of “quitter, quitter” just appear to be the latest accusation of the spoiled brat frat boys who run the party.
I will never vote for Willard-bama or any other corrupt establishment Republican again. The long arm of despotic tyranny we experienced in Florida 22 has been beyond the pale.
We got a good taste in Florida with sellouts like Pam Bondi slapping Tea Party patriots in the face trying to sell us Romney’s socialized medicine and jumping in bed with Team Romney. To add insult to injury we have Marco Rubio who the establishment didn’t support also jumping on board.
My enemy is NOT Obama. It is the corrupt Republican machine who wants to be so much like Obama. You want Obama, you’ve got him!
The sooner this party blows up the better. The sooner like a phoenix conservatism will rise from the ashes.
It’s called tough love and giving the establishment enough rope to hang themselves.
Insanity is having the same behavior and expecting a different outcome. I will no longer tolerate their chicken little routine, “The sky is falling. You have to vote for our Obama-lite or Obama will win” act. Good, let him win.

The GOP general election plan was written five years ago.
Mitt will go soft on Obama because that’s the GOP moderate/establishment playbook, last deployed to a major loss by McCain in 2008, and is blamed on McCain as an uninspiring candidate and on a wild card opponent in Obama – they were planning on Hilary. They use the soft approach so as not to alienate the cherished independent bloc, while the conservative base is taken for granted. Mitt has already shown that soft-hand plan: “Obama’s an OK guy, he’s just in over his head…”, and other such limp utterances.

Romney’s hardness (cowardice) in using massive $$$ via super PACs and surrogates will not work in the general. Anyone who can match it or exceed it will nullify this – and Obama can and will. Romney’s only ‘strength’, well-financed negative ads, will be obviated. No one can come close to it in the GOP primaries, so it works there.

This is why I persist with my same prediction. The same GOP game plan will produce the same results. Obama loses the ‘wild card/didn’t see him coming’ advantage, but gains the incumbency/bully pulpit advantage. Even up.

Obama is vulnerable on Obamacare and bailouts, but Romney cannot attack on those due to Romneycare and his support of bailouts. Even up.

Obama cannot run on his record, and is making economic ‘fairness’ – class warfare, 1%/99% – the focus, with the full support of 90% of the media. Romney is a 1-percenter, which resonates outside of conservative circles in a society with +10% unemployment. An Obama vulnerability neutralized. Even up.

Wherever Obama is vulnerable something about Romney negates it as an attack vector, most of all due to the overall ‘go soft/pander to indies’ GOP game plan. Even up.

It’ll come down to one long ugly nasty campaign of dueling attack ads full of lies, race-mongering, religion-bashing, etc., etc., all of it pitching right into Obama’s wheelhouse because: (1) It keeps us from addressing the real issues, none of which favor Obama, and (2) Obama will outspend Romney 2:1 or more.